Night time Excursions

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte was leaning on her broom, her hair flying wildly around her head. She clicked her tongue before jumping up on her broom and racing off. It was about two in the morning and once again she couldn't sleep. She was thinking to much lately and needed to clear her mind, even if just for a few moments. She wasn't stressed really, she was just worried that something would go wrong because everything had been going great lately.

She smiled lightly as she flew around the pitch and even let out a loud excited chuckle. She hadn't been out of her broom for a few days and this was giving her exactly what she needed. She did a few loops around and just enjoyed the rush of air through her hair.

Charlotte started to dive toward the ground and pulled up at the last second, picking up a smooth rock from the floor. She threw it ahead of her and shot off after in the dark to try and catch it. Anyone watching would be able to see her, but no one would know who it really was from her shaded silhouette.

[Zane Lestrange]

Two o'clock. As usual Zane was getting ready for Quidditch. The common room was deserted, he made sure to double check as last time Rosie was still up and she confiscated his firebolt. Telling him to bloody well get some sleep. Past the fat lady and down the corridor towards the grand staircase, taking the shortcut to the ground floor via the Heseltine Tapestry. One check left and one check right. All clear. He headed out into the grounds through the small side door which he always used.

The cold night air hit him as he ventured outside, very refreshing. He looked up towards the Quidditch Pitch, dark and deserted as usual. As he reached the edge of the stands he saw a shadowy figure swooping through the air above him. So it wasn't deserted tonight. He stood by one of the small oil lamps helping to provide a small ring of light around the edge of the stadium. He waited firebolt in hand, the engraved handle glistening slightly in the flicker of the oil lamp, looking up at the few stars and trying to decifer who the player was.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte continued to fly around unnoticed, at least thats what she thought. She tore her gaze from the stars and looked to the ground spotting the dark form of another late night Quidditch player. She flew lower trying to figure out if this student was from her own team or not. As she got closed she noted the light colored hair and facial features. Her mouth grew into an almost saddistic grin. "Well, well, well. Look who came to visit, my favorite New Order member." She kept no sarcasm from her voice.

She wasn't in the mood to have a leader-to-leader tango tonight, but if push came to shove, she was not going to give up her practice time to him. She landed onto the ground and walked up to him almost smirking, "So, came to watch how to really fly a broom?"

[Zane Lestrange]

"Well it's my favourite DE member," he said as he looked at Charlotte. "I'm simply here for my nightly quidditch practice, are you trying to muscle in on my practice time? I wouldn't have thought you would have been the crazy-insane-mad quidditch captain, but it seems I was mistaken..." He threw the snitch up into the air and caught it again before standing on his broom and hovering a few inches above the ground.

"No, I'm perfectly capable of flying without falling off" as he said this he threw the snitch into the air and chased after it. A few seconds later the snitch had been captured, its tiny golden wings fighting to free itself from Zane's grasp. Flying through the air Zane went into a sharp dive pulling up just a foot away from the ground. Skimming along the ground he circled Charlotte before shooting up to weave in and out of the stands.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte smirked, "Well then, I guess you were. Of course, not that I need it, I do like to practice alone as well. So yes. You were mistaken." She had a tone of smugness and mockery. She rolled her eyes as he tried to look cool tossing the Snitch and then watched him jump onto his broom.

"Wanna bet?" She replied thinking of ways she could maybe knock him off his broom or something. She once again rolled her eyes and shooked her head as he flew fast towards the loose snitch. She just grinned at him as he circled her and she jumped onto her broom. She followed after him and was soon close enough to him to speak. "How about we have a little friendly game as seekers?"

[Zane Lestrange]

Zane nodded, yes it was true, most captains liked to practice alone, try out new drills and perfect them before demonstrating to the rest of the team. At Charlotte's question alarm bells were set off in his head, mainly due to Rosie telling him to never go anywhere alone. Well what harm could a little game of Quidditch cause? "Sure, I'm up for a bit of friendly competition," he replied, "Are you just going to follow me all night? Or actually chase after the snitch?"

He sped off towards the opposite goal posts, this would be a challenge and a chance to see if Charlotte had improved as a seeker. With the match next week, this could be quite an advantage to know how she flies.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte laughed as she could feel his apprehension, "Don't worry. It would be foolish of me to try and do something damaging to you." She knew that must have been what he was worried about. She turned to try and see the snitch, "I think you'll soon see that its going to be you following me around the pitch, Lestrange."

She watched him practically zoom away from her and she shot off like a rocket. An enormous grin was plastered on her face. She was waiting for a moment like this to show off her hard work. She was wondering if Zane had been able to hone his skill to a higher level.

She spotted a golden glint above one of the goal hoops, "See ya later, golden boy." She chased after the elusive ball, keeping her eyes on the snitch for as long as she could.

[Zane Lestrange]

There it was, the golden fluttering wings hovering just above the goal posts. He chased after the snitch, it look like Charlotte had seen it too. "What's the new obsession with using my surname, Crenge?" he said as they battled side by side racing towards the snitch. It was as if the snitch could sense the approaching seekers as it corkscrewed back down towards the ground, twisting away from the outstretched hands of Charlotte and Zane. "Well I'd rather not end up in the hospital wing, mind you if that did happen, you'd be in there with me. Surely you know, I don't go down without a fight?" Zane said as he performed a half loop now facing in the direction of the snitch.

"Sail on Silver Girl!" Zane shouted as he weaved in and out of the goal posts after the snitch. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed the fact that Charlotte was now following. He glanced up at the stands and thought he caught sight of a small group of cloaked figures. Strange, my mind must be playing tricks on me.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte's eyes sparkled, hiding something behind her gaze, "Oh you know. Maybe trying to send someone a hint." That was her first mention to her biggest secret she had ever let loose, but she knew that it was soon going to be time to let the world know. She followed suit and did her own version of a corkscrew, landing her faced toward Zane and the snitch, "You should know that you would still be the one with the most damage."

She pushed her self forward trying to catch back up with him. She flew right passed the hoops and closer towards the stands. She nearly slipped off her broom at the sight of dark cloaks in the seats. She glared at the small group furious, and sped pulling in front of Zane and she felt her finger tips graze the ball. But it flew further before she could close her hand around it. It can't possibly be...If her guess was right she had a feeling she knew who they were.

[Zane Lestrange]

"Hmm maybe, but of course you'd never admit that I could probably cause you severe damage," he said whilst swerving and pulling up alongside Charlotte. When Charlotte nearly slipped off the broom, Zane took the chance to see if there were any dark figures or whether they were just a figure of his imagination. Sure enough there they were, at least a dozen of them, whoever they were. Zane knew that if it had been Rosie or Teddy they would have borrowed James' cloak or at least put a disillusionment charm on the group. But he was sure that Teddy and Rosie had already given the younger members a training session earlier in the evening. So who were they?

Zane drew level with Charlotte once more, arms reaching out for the snitch. The snitch, in turn, flew towards the group of cloaked figures. Oh great, with Rosie's warnings ringing in his ears, Zane followed the snitch and tried to get a closer look at the group. No, still nothing. Luckily the snitch curved around to the left, so he didn't have to get too close to the group. In the corner of his eye, he was sure he saw some bright blond hair escaping from one of the cloaks, when he turned to double check, it had disappeared. Then it dawned on him, what if that hair belonged to his sister, he would be in deep trouble.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte laughed, "Riight. Just keep thinking that Zaney-boi." She glanced at Zane as she pulled herself right on her broom again. The way he was looking at the small group in the stands showed her that he didn't know the cloaked figures either. That couldn't be anyone from her group, they would have been smart enough to remember a cloaking charm.

She followed Zane and the snitch as they both grew closer to the stands, giving her a closer look at them. She saw a glimps of light blonde before it dissapeared back under a cloak. She first thought it was Kianthra but the body was about 6 inches too tall. Before she could continue to get a good look at any of the other bodys, the snitch once again changed course. She followed after him closely, "What's the matter? Something scare you?" She didn't want him to know that she was concerned about the group as well.

[Zane Lestrange]

"Scare me? No. I just wondered who they were..."

Who the hell are they? At least Charlotte doesn't seem to recognise them, at least we can rule out her group. They don't look like anyone in the New Order. They're too tall to be first or second years. Maybe fifth or sixth years. Bright blond hair? The only person I know who has bright blond hair, is my sister, but one thing was for sure, its definitely not Kianthra; if it had been she would have already attacked me. No it's not my sister. Maybe some crazy cult? Or some students "camping-out"? Whoever they are, what are they doing here?

Following the snitch closely, he took a dive towards the ground, hand reaching out for the snitch, before soaring back up to fifty feet. The moonlight threw an eery light on the small group sat in the stands, who seemed to be intently watching the two Captains battle for the snitch. Red sparks swirling around the group, just visible in the blackness. Then a bolt of red shot from one of the wands, heading for the two Seekers. Zane corkscrewed out of the way just in time, which gave Charlotte an advantage in catching the snitch. Then it began. As if the sky was raining stunning spells, well that's what Zane hoped they were...

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte was smirking as they both continued to fly after the snitch. She wasn't bothered to be too concerned with the group on the stands, that was until they sent a curse, not only towards Zane but her as well. She watched him swerve and her fingers wrapped around the snitch before turning sharply from another bolt of light. "What the bloody hell?" At first she thought that it was someone she knew, sending the spells at Zane, that was until one was deliberately sent at her.

She instantly let go of the snitch and pulled out her wand, still holding onto her broom with one hand. She sent a spell back towards the group angrily, How dare anyone try and attack me? Can't they see who their pointing at? She turned to see Zane getting his fair share of spells at him as well. The group definitely was not of students, their knowledge of spell work showed that. The question was, how did who ever they are get into the school? They had to have known about the secret passages through the school. Even Charlotte had only ever known about them due to the Notts.

[Zane Lestrange]

Soaring around at fifty feet, both Seekers were managing to evade the spells, but the question still remained, who were the mysterious figures? They must be from outside of Hogwarts, if they were the New Order, they wouldn't be aiming for him, if the were the DE they wouldn't be aiming for Charlotte. The only logical solution was that they had some how penetrated the schools defences, but why on earth would they choose the Quidditch Pitch of all places? It's as if they knew Charlotte and I would be meeting here. I hope it's not the ministry. Mind you only one group knows about the secret passages into school, but why would they be here?

He dodged another spell with a sloth grip roll, before turning to face the spell casters once more. He shot a few stunning spells back at the group, only to see them bounce off in random directions. They're fairly skilled at magic, sheesh what if it's aurors or old death eaters, but then again why would they attack both of us? Unless they don't know who we are, we just look like two students from this height. "Charlotte, I think..." Zane started to say before he suddenly dodged a spell that came out of no where. Hanging onto the firebolt with one arm, made the ground seem a long way down, a fall from this height would definitely break your leg, or worse.

He hung there for a few seconds before swinging his leg back onto the firebolt, with a sigh of relief.

[Charlotte Riddle]

Charlotte was getting fed up with this constant bob and weave nonsense they were both being put through. "Protego!" She sent the shield charm around the area of the pitch they were in, more of a subconscious effort of making it as strong as possible then to really keep the Gyffindor protected as well, but still. Which would explain how the next second while Zane was about to speak to her he was shot almost clear off his broom. She narrowed her eyes and watched him pull himself back up, "What was that, Lestrange?" she flew closer to him and sent another hex towards the small group.

"It seems that if we both want to get out of here, we're, dare I say it, going to have to work together." She waited for his response, dedicating herself to simply keeping all spells off them at the moment so they could escape. She tried to keep the impulse to race over there under control, that would be reckless and stupid.